Former Indian cricketer Gautam Gambhir gained widespread attention during the Ind vs Nep Asia Cup 2023 match when a video clip went viral on social media. In the video, Gambhir is observed making an offensive gesture toward the crowd in response to their chants of ‘Virat Kohli’ and ‘MS Dhoni’.
The fans definitely thought that the applause from those particular players got under Gambhir’s skin, forcing him to make an aggressive hand gesture while being led out of the stadium by officials. Although many media initially indicated that this controversial incident occurred during the India-Nepal match on Monday, September 4, it, in reality, unfolded during the dramatic clash against arch-rivals Pakistan on September 2.
Contrary to these accusations, a photo circulating on social media shows a different scenario. In the photo, Gambhir can be seen wearing a white shirt during the India-Pakistan match, the same clothing as in the viral video clip. However, during the India-Nepal encounter, the former cricketer was really sporting a black t-shirt.
Gambhir later explained that his strong reaction was triggered by the anti-India comments that had deeply angered him. He went on to engage with the media to discuss the incident and also took to his social media platform to express his perspective on the situation.
Gambhir shared a tweet on his ‘X’ handle, he wrote: “‘A lie can travel halfway around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes’. Not everything is as it seems. Any Indian would react how I did to the kind of slogans used against our nation. I love our players & I love my country.”
Gambhir further clarified during his media interaction that whatever you see on social media is need not be true, he said:
“What is shown on social media has no truth in it because people show whatever they want to show. The truth about the video that went viral is that if you raise anti-India slogans and speak about Kashmir then the person before you will obviously react and not smile and leave. There were 2-3 Pakistanis there who were speaking anti-India things and things on Kashmir. So, it was my natural reaction. I can’t hear anything against my country. So, that was my reaction,” he told the media.
